It was one of three demos Mick gave to Jim on cassette in early 1981. The first two eventually became Sons And Fascination and Seeing Out The Angel. The third was elusive, and as Jim tried to write lyrics for it, it became known as The Third Track.

It was recorded under the demo title of Dexy's.

It was recorded at Farmyard Studios as a backing track, as everyone probably assumed it would get vocals later. However, with the final mix underway at Regent's Park, the band ran out of time and Jim cooly declared it would remain an instrumental. "I never imagined Theme For Great Cities being an instrumental while Jim would say he always imagined it being an instrumental. But had I known that it was going to be and borne that in mind, I'm sure I would've made it much more interesting, even though I think it's a classic" - Mick.

"One of the best moves I ever made was not to sing on 'Theme For Great Cities'. I remember walking around with that in Glasgow on my new Sony Walkman thinking this is fucking perfect." - Jim

"It was in early months of Spring '81 that I recall being given a cassette tape by the then Simple Minds keyboardist, Mick MacNeil. It included three new ideas that he had been working on at home, most probably using a 4-track Tascam portastudio. Instantly excited about this new music he had given me, my job was to spend a lot of time listening hard, in doing so getting to know it inside out. My overall objective being to conjure up lyrics and melodic vocal ideas. Ones that might fit seamlessly, evolving those original ideas of Mick's, into something that you would then call songs. Within a few days I had succeeded in that task with at least two of the tracks. One of which I believe became Sons And Fascination. The other become known as Seeing Out The Angel. The third track, and possibly my favourite, somehow eluded me."

"Not that I had not come up with any ideas, I had hit on plenty. It was more that nothing I had come up with did rightful justice to Mick's already "seemingly complete" idea. Leaving me weeks later to come to the conclusion that the piece perhaps could work most powerfully as an instrumental?"

"Coming to that was in no way a surrender, or that I had given up with trying. Although that of course happens sometimes, this time was different. I simply believed in the potency of the idea working best - if it was to be produced as an "instrumental theme." Truly, I could find no need for me to go breathing all over the top of it - only so we could call it a "proper song." And why should I have considered that? Well, because by enlarge, instrumentals were often viewed as lesser creations than full on songs. Ones with lyrics, verses, choruses etc."

"But then again, Eno/Kraftwerk/Bowie/Magazine and a few others, had already impressed on us the potency of instrumental music. Plus, Simple Minds had themselves already flirted with instrumentals on previous albums. Therefore this mysterious "3rd track" as I had then titled it, could perhaps also be in the same vein. Or at least that was increasingly my inclination as I walked through the southside of Glasgow daily with the sound of it constantly on repeat."

"Finally, given then that there would be no lyrics to help give an image to the track. I still knew that I would have to come up with a standout title - to befit solidly the futuristic style and atmosphere that I perceived even on first listen to the demo idea. That left me with the challenge of coming up with string of words that added together would somehow just grab you, wrestle with your imagination, and hopefully make you want to listen. For that I chose "Theme For Great Cities"- and to me it seemed to fit perfectly. I now could never imagine it being called anything else. And as for the inspiration? I feel sure that I had simultaneously been reading a compilation of short stories from the popular sci-fi author Phillip K Dick. It might well have played a part in that." - Jim, 12th August 2017

Instrumental

Album Version (5:50) Producer: Steve Hillage Engineer: Hugh Jones
'90 Remix (3:07) Producer: Stephen Lipson
'91 Edit (4:33) Producer: Stephen Lipson Engineer and MIDI Manager: Heff Moraes Mixing Assistant: Giles Cowley
'91 (6:33) Producer: Stephen Lipson Engineer and MIDI Manager: Heff Moraes Mixing Assistant: Giles Cowley
Fila Brazilia Remix Edit (3:42) Producer: Steve Hillage Remixed by: Fila Brazilia
Fila Brazilia Remix (5:01) Producer: Steve Hillage Remixed by: Fila Brazilia
Fila Brazilia Mix 1 (5:37) Producer: Steve Hillage Remixed by: Fila Brazilia
'98 Fluke's Atlantis Mix (5:36) Producer: Steve Hillage Remixed and additional production by Fluke
Live Version (6th November 2009) (1:59) Recorded: Neon Concept Club, Ancona, Italy Mixed By Concert Online
Live Version (7th November 2009) (3:19) Recorded: Atlantico, Rome, Italy Mixed By Concert Online
Live Version (8th November 2009) (3:17) Recorded: Gran Teatro Di Padova, Padova, Italy Mixed By Concert Online
Live Version (18th November 2009) (1:49) Recorded: La Riviera, Madrid, Spain Mixed By Concert Online
Live Version (19th November 2009) (1:32) Recorded: Kursaal, San Sebastian, Spain Mixed By Concert Online
Live Version (22nd November 2009) (3:04) Recorded: Falconer Theatre, Copenhagen, Denmark Mixed By Concert Online
Live Version (23rd November 2009) (3:16) Recorded: Solnahallen, Stockholm, Sweden Mixed By Concert Online
Live Version (24th November 2009) (2:59) Recorded: Sentrum Scene, Oslo, Norway Mixed By Concert Online
Live Version (26th November 2009) (3:13) Recorded: Heineken Music Hall, Amsterdam, The Netherlands Mixed By Concert Online
Live Version (27th November 2009) (3:04) Recorded: Sporthalle, Hamburg, Germany Mixed By Concert Online
Live Version (28th November 2009) (3:24) Recorded: Forest National, Brussels, Belgium Mixed By Concert Online
Live Version (30th November 2009) (3:04) Recorded: Metro Arena, Newcastle, UK Mixed By Concert Online
Live Version (2nd December 2009) (3:08) Recorded: NEC, Birmingham, UK Mixed By Concert Online
Live Version (3rd December 2009) (3:03) Recorded: MEN, Manchester, UK Mixed By Concert Online
Live Version (5th December 2009) (3:05) Recorded: Arena, Sheffield, UK Mixed By Concert Online
Live Version (6th December 2009) (3:03) Recorded: CIA, Cardiff, UK Mixed By Concert Online
Live Version (7th December 2009) (1:47) Recorded: Arena, Wembley, UK Mixed By Concert Online
Live Version (9th December 2009) (1:46) Recorded: 02, Dublin, Ireland Mixed By Concert Online
Live Version (10th December 2009) (1:46) Recorded: Odyssey, Belfast, Northern Ireland Mixed By Concert Online
Live Version (11th December 2009) (2:01) Recorded: SECC, Glasgow, UK Mixed By Concert Online
Live Version (12th December 2009) (1:54) Recorded: AEC, Aberdeen, UK Mixed By Concert Online
Live Version (17th December 2009) (1:50) Recorded: Popcentrum, Tilburg, Netherlands Mixed By Concert Online
Live Version (18th December 2009) (1:41) Recorded: Autostadt Piazza, Wolfsburg, Germany Mixed By Concert Online
Moby Remix Radio Edit (3:29) Producer: Steve Hillage Remixed by: Moby
Moby Remix (6:04) Producer: Steve Hillage Remixed by: Moby
Live Version (24th February 2012) (4:33) Recorded: Academy, Birmingham, UK Recorded by: Olivier Gerard Mixed by: Olivier Gerard Engineered by: Rudy Coclet ISRC: GB01A1201427
Live Version (20th November 2013) (4:33) Recorded: Heineken Music Hall, Amsterdam, The Netherlands Mixed By Concert Live
Live Version (28th November 2013) (4:39) Recorded: Arena, Manchester, UK Mixed By Concert Live
Live Version (30th November 2013) (5:59) Recorded: O2, London, UK Mixed By Concert Live
Live Version (27th November 2013) (4:28) Recorded: Hydro, Glasgow, UK Mixing: Olivier Gerard (GG) at Jet Studios, Brussels Sound Engineer: Rudy Coclet
Live Version (27th July 2014) (4:30) Recorded: The Cavea, Rome, Italy Mixed By Bleecker Street
Live Version (28th July 2014) (?:??) Recorded: Piazza Castello, Ferrara, Italy Mixed By Bleecker Street
Live Version (29th July 2014) (4:29) Recorded: Arena Alpe Adria, Lignano Sabbiadoro, Italy Mixed By Bleecker Street
Live Version (30th July 2014) (4:27) Recorded: Gru Village, Turin, Italy Mixed By Bleecker Street
Live Version (24th October 2018) (5:05) Recorded: Orpheum Theatre, Los Angeles, California, USA Recorded by: Olivier Gerard Produced by: Andy Wright Mixed by: Gavin Goldberg Assisted by: Lewis Chapman

'90 Remix (3:06) Producer: Steve Lipson
2013 Remix (1:08) Mixing: Olivier Gerard (GG) at Jet Studios, Brussels Sound Engineer: Rudy Coclet
2013 Remix (1:25) Mixing: Olivier Gerard (GG) at Jet Studios, Brussels Sound Engineer: Rudy Coclet
Live Version (27th November 2013) (4:28) Recorded: Hydro, Glasgow, UK Mixing: Olivier Gerard (GG) at Jet Studios, Brussels Sound Engineer: Rudy Coclet

Live Version (6th November 2009) (1:59) Recorded: Neon Concept Club, Ancona, Italy Mixed By Concert Online
Live Version (7th November 2009) (3:19) Recorded: Atlantico, Rome, Italy Mixed By Concert Online
Live Version (8th November 2009) (3:17) Recorded: Gran Teatro Di Padova, Padova, Italy Mixed By Concert Online
Live Version (18th November 2009) (1:49) Recorded: La Riviera, Madrid, Spain Mixed By Concert Online
Live Version (19th November 2009) (1:32) Recorded: Kursaal, San Sebastian, Spain Mixed By Concert Online
Live Version (22nd November 2009) (3:04) Recorded: Falconer Theatre, Copenhagen, Denmark Mixed By Concert Online
Live Version (23rd November 2009) (3:16) Recorded: Solnahallen, Stockholm, Sweden Mixed By Concert Online
Live Version (24th November 2009) (2:59) Recorded: Sentrum Scene, Oslo, Norway Mixed By Concert Online
Live Version (26th November 2009) (3:13) Recorded: Heineken Music Hall, Amsterdam, The Netherlands Mixed By Concert Online
Live Version (27th November 2009) (3:04) Recorded: Sporthalle, Hamburg, Germany Mixed By Concert Online
Live Version (28th November 2009) (3:24) Recorded: Forest National, Brussels, Belgium Mixed By Concert Online
Live Version (30th November 2009) (3:04) Recorded: Metro Arena, Newcastle, UK Mixed By Concert Online
Live Version (2nd December 2009) (3:08) Recorded: NEC, Birmingham, UK Mixed By Concert Online
Live Version (3rd December 2009) (3:03) Recorded: MEN, Manchester, UK Mixed By Concert Online
Live Version (5th December 2009) (3:05) Recorded: Arena, Sheffield, UK Mixed By Concert Online
Live Version (6th December 2009) (3:03) Recorded: CIA, Cardiff, UK Mixed By Concert Online
Live Version (7th December 2009) (1:47) Recorded: Arena, Wembley, UK Mixed By Concert Online
Live Version (9th December 2009) (1:46) Recorded: 02, Dublin, Ireland Mixed By Concert Online
Live Version (10th December 2009) (1:46) Recorded: Odyssey, Belfast, Northern Ireland Mixed By Concert Online
Live Version (11th December 2009) (2:01) Recorded: SECC, Glasgow, UK Mixed By Concert Online
Live Version (12th December 2009) (1:54) Recorded: AEC, Aberdeen, UK Mixed By Concert Online
Live Version (17th December 2009) (1:50) Recorded: Popcentrum, Tilburg, Netherlands Mixed By Concert Online
Live Version (18th December 2009) (1:41) Recorded: Autostadt Piazza, Wolfsburg, Germany Mixed By Concert Online
Live Version (27th July 2014) (4:30) Recorded: The Cavea, Rome, Italy Mixed By Bleecker Street
Live Version (28th July 2014) (?:??) Recorded: Piazza Castello, Ferrara, Italy Mixed By Bleecker Street
Live Version (29th July 2014) (4:29) Recorded: Arena Alpe Adria, Lignano Sabbiadoro, Italy Mixed By Bleecker Street
Live Version (30th July 2014) (4:27) Recorded: Gru Village, Turin, Italy Mixed By Bleecker Street